Cigar Review: Tatuaje Skinny Hyde

The Tatuaje Skinny Hyde is one of ten cigars that make up the Tatuaje Skinny Monsters collection. Skinny Monsters is a sampler of ten 6 x 38 petite lanceros based on various Tatuaje Monster Series releases. Since 2008, the Tatuaje Monsters Series has been an annual release right before Halloween. For each installment of the series, a different blend with a different size pays homage to a monster / horror movie character. While the Monsters Series remains an annual release, there have been several off-shoot sampler releases, one of which is the Tatuaje Skinny Monsters series. Today we take a look at a third cigar in the Skinny Monsters series with the Skinny Hyde.

As mentioned, there are several offshoots of the Monsters Series Collection. With the exception of the original Monsters Series, all have been made available in sampler packs. Each of the collections are (or have been) limited in production. Here is some further details:

• Monster Series:  Released annually (usually around Halloween) since 2008. These have been Double Corona or Churchill sizes
• Little Monsters: Released in 2012, these are shorter, thinner versions of the first five Monster releases from 2008 to 2012. The sampler includes two cigars per blend. The Mini Mum was the little version of the Tatuaje Mummy and is the only case in any Monster Series collection where one of the offshoot sizes was released before the full monster sized vitola.
• Pudgy Monsters: Released in 2014, these cigars are the same length of the Little Monsters and same ring gauge of the original Monsters. This collection introduced two new monsters not previously released before, Chuck and Tiff. Each sampler contains two Chuck and two Tiff cigars as well as one Pudgy size for each of the Monster Blends released from 2008 to 2013.
• Skinny Monsters: Released this year, this includes one 6 x 38 petite lancero of each of the first eight full monster releases as well as 6 x 38 versions of the Chuck and Tiff. At this year’s IPCPR each of the Skinny Monsters were made available in 25 count boxes consisting of a single blend.
• Skinny Monsters Cazadores Edition: This includes a 6 3/4 x 43 vitola of each of the first eight full monster releases as well as 6 3/4 x 43 versions of the Chuck and Tiff. This format was introduced at the 2016 IPCPR Trade Show.
• Skinny Monsters Lancero Edition: This includes a 7 1/2 x 38 lancero of each of the first eight full monster releases as well as 7 1/2 x 38 versions of the Chuck and Tiff. This format was introduced at the 2016 IPCPR Trade Show.

The grid below maps each monster / horror film character blend to the cigar that was released in each of the Monster Series collections. A blank indicates the blend was not released in that collection.

Without further ado, let’s break down the Tatuaje Skinny Hyde and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile

The Tatuaje Hyde uses an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper. The is the second Tatuaje Monster (joining the Tatuaje Wolfman) to use this wrapper

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua (My Father SA)

Vitolas Available

The Hyde: 7 x 49 (Churchill)
Skinny Hyde: 6 x 38
Skinny Hyde Cazadores: 6 3/4 x 43 (*)
Skinny Hyde Lancero: 7 1/2 x 38 (*)

* Showcased at the 2016 IPCPR Trade Show, wider distribution coming soon

As mentioned, in addition to being a part of the Skinny Monsters sampler, the Skinny Hyde has also been made available in 25 count boxes:

Appearance

The Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper of the Tatuaje Skinny Hyde had a medium brown, almost caramel color. There was some oil on the surface of the cigar. While there was some thin visible veins and the wrapper seams are somewhat hidden, I still found the surface of this cigar to be on the bumpy side.

The band is based on the standard “Tatuaje” scripted logo. The script font is black on an lime green background. To the left of the “Tatuaje” scripting is the text “SKINNY” in the a gothic style black font. To the right of the scripting” it says “MONSTERS” – also in black font. To the far right is a black Tatuaje “Tattoo” stamp. The band is finished with a white pinstripe across the top and bottom.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

Prior to lighting up the Tatuaje Skinny Hyde, I went with my usual choice of a straight cut to remove the cap. Once the cap was removed, I proceeded with the pre-light draw. The dry draw delivered a mix of wood, natural tobacco, and what I consider to be the Hyde blend’s signature note – a slight mint-like (non-infused) flavor. Overall I considered this to be a satisfactory pre-light draw. At this point, I was ready to light up the Tatuaje Skinny Hyde and see what the smoking experience would have in store.

Flavor Profile

The Tatuaje Skinny Hyde started out with notes of wood and a combination of black and white pepper. The wood notes became primary while the pepper combination moved into the background. Very early on, the mint-like note I’ve grown accustomed to on the  full-size Tatuaje Hyde joined the pepper in the background. Meanwhile, the retro-hale produced a combination of food and pepper.

During the first third, there were some notes of natural tobacco sweetness that surfaced with the wood in the forefront. I also found a slight fusion develop between the natural tobacco and wood notes. Meanwhile while the pepper spice and mint remained in the distant background.

By the second half, I found the natural tobacco tobacco notes took over as one of the primary notes. The woody notes split off from the natural tobacco and moved into the background. Meanwhile there was an increase in the pepper spices resulting in these notes joined the natural tobacco. I also still detected the mint note in the background.

For the last third of the Skinny Hyde, the natural tobacco and pepper remained primary with the mint secondary and still some wood notes in the distant background. This is the way the flavor profile came to a close. The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

Overall the Tatuaje Skinny Hyde was a well-constructed cigar and this reflected nicely on the burn and draw. The burn line remained sharp and the cigar took a straight path from start to finish.  I found the resulting ash had a light gray color with some darker speckling. The ash itself was quite firm – coming off the cigar in nice clean chunks. Meanwhile the Skinny Hyde maintained an ideal burn rate and ideal burn temperature.

The draw to the Skinny Hyde performed quite well. It had a slight touch of resistance -which is something I like. This made the Skinny Hyde an enjoyable smoke from start to finish.

Strength and Body

In terms of strength and body, I found the Tatuaje Skinny Hyde to pretty much be in the wheelhouse of its full-sized Tatuaje Hyde counterpart. Both the strength and body started out medium to full. For the most part I didn’t find either attribute increased much in intensity as the cigar experience progressed. I also found both the strength and body to balance each other nicely – with neither attribute overshadowing the other.

Final Thoughts

One thing that does stand out is the unique mint-like flavor with the blend of the Tatuaje Skinny Hyde. While this flavor does differentiate the Hyde blend from many other blends on the market, I still found this to be a cigar that really didn’t capture my attention. Overall, I found the flavor profile as a whole to be ordinary and actually on the boring side. The Skinny Hyde also had excellent construction, but I consider that to be a given, not a bonus.

The addition of the Tatuaje Krueger release along with the Skinny Monsters Cazadores and Lanceros will bring the total number of Monster facings to 52.  Unfortunately, you can love every one of these releases, and in my opinion, there are others that I found much more enjoyable. At the same time, the fact that this cigar has quite a unique profile I’d encourage you to try one and see what you think.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Low to Medium
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Excellent
Assessment: 2.5-Try One
Score: 87

References

News: Tatuaje Skinny Monsters Coming Soon
Price: $85.00 (Skinny Monsters Sampler)
Source: Purchased
Stogie Geeks Podcast: Episode 200
Stogie Feed: Tatuaje Skinny Hyde
Brand Reference: Tatuaje